Integration

IT systems in many institutions have usually evolved over some years in distinct departments each running their own applications (Accounts, Alumni, Library, Student Records, E-mail and Network directories etc.). Few people would argue that these systems have not become essential in the day to day running of  teaching and administration.

However with each new system has come an additional and often unforeseen issue. This is the creation of ‘islands’ of data, each needing to be created, very often with a large peak at the beginning of the academic year, and maintained. For many institutions this in turn creates problems, particularly ensuring that changes are reflected in all the databases as soon as possible. An additional complication may be that nobody has an overall picture of the total data holdings in an institution.  This is perhaps not surprising, since constantly changing requests from students, financial bodies, teaching staff and others for information, can make planning an integrated and properly co-ordinated information system difficult.

One solution may be to purchase a complete integrated system from one of the specialist suppliers, but an alternative (and much less expensive and disruptive) solution may be to look at the current ‘departmental’ applications and use various ‘middle ware’ tools to bridge the gaps. It may be all that is needed is to carry out a Data Infrastructure Mapping exercise to establish the correct ‘master’ database which is maintained and then records cascaded to other systems on a regular batch basis. This can bring great efficiency savings very quickly, because the ‘secondary’ databases then do not each need to be maintained to the same degree.

OXACT can help get your systems integrated by either :-

• Working with you to develop a specification, issue an RFP, select a supplier and help you implement a new integrated system (the homogenous approach).
   
• Or, looking at your existing systems and producing an integration plan to get them working together more efficiently (the heterogeneous approach).

If this is an area you feel we can help you with, or you would like to discuss the possibilities in your organisation then please contact us.